Cutting-tool



(No Mo deL) 0. T. RIDGELY.

CUTTING TOOL.

No. 533,375. Patented Jan. 29, 1895 CHARLES T. RIDGELY, OF SPRINGFIELD, OHIO.

CUTTING-TOOL.

QPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 533,375, dated January 29, 1895:

Application filed August 16, 1 894. Serial No. 5 20,519- (N m deL) To aZZ whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES T. RIDGELY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Springfield, in the county of Clark and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Cutting-Tools, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings. i

This invention relates to certain new and usefulimprovements in tools for cutting paper and trimming window shades, cloth, and such like, and such improvements consist in combining together a head which carries the cutting blade and a gage which travels on a guide strip and guides the direction of the head with its blade, the combination and connection of the head and gage .being effected by means of a pivotal joint preferably'involving also a spring to support the blade normally above the material to be out. Some details of construction also enter into the present improvements, as will be hereinafter fully described.

In the accompanying drawings on which like reference letters indicate corresponding parts: Figure 1, represents a side elevation of my improved tool looking at what may be called the face of it, and a like view of the guide strip; Fig. 2, a plan view of a portion of the tool; Fig. 3, an end elevation with some I of the parts broken away to facilitate illuswooden part at one edge and thereby forms a way with which engages the gage. The adjoining edge of the guide strip is faced OE With a plate 0, the plates B and 0 being of metal, preferably of steel. They are secured to the strip A in any desired manner, as by screws D whose heads are flush with the surfaces of the plates.

. The letter E designates what I term the gage, the same being constructed of cast metal, as iron or brass, and provided along its lower edge with a groove F which receives the gage will readilyinterlook with the plate while being free to slide back and forth thereon. This gage is hollowed out on the inside to make it lighter and to accommodate the the overhanging edge of the plate B so that head of the arbor which supports the blade.

At one end the gage has a stud or pin G which forms the pivot for the head. The gage also has a lug or projection H which acts as a stop to the head to prevent it from being swung up too high by the action of the spring, as will presently appear. The other end of the gage is formed with a part I which is bored out,as shown at J and faced off on both sides, as shown atK in Fig. 3.

.The letter L designates the head which is also made of cast metal, say and is hollowed out on one side as shown at M, so as to receive within it the essential body of the gage E. At one end the head has an opening matching with the pin G in the gage, which opening receives the stud or pin G. The screw 0 is screwed into the end of the stud or pin G to prevent the head from slipping 06. As shown the stud or pin is screwed into the gage. This is one form of pivot, but any other form might be employed so long as there is a pivotal connection between the head and gage.

iron or brass,

From Fig. 2 it willbe seen that the head is cut away so as to form a lap joint with the gage, and that the lug H of the gage extends over the head enough to form a stop to limitthe movement of the head in one direction. This is the action of the stop when the gage is on the guide strip, from the strip the action of the stop is really its free end. This head L has a hub-like portion P which is screw-threaded to receive the arbor Q which is held in a fixed position by a milled binding nut R. On an unthreaded part of the screw arbor Q is mounted a blade S in the form of a disk beveled off at one side to form a sharp edge. The blade turns freely on the arbor and fits up close to the facing plate 0 of the strip, but, preferably does not quite touchit. Referring now to the spring which is interposed between the head and gage it will be seen that a pin T carried by the head is adapted to play up and down in the bore J, and that a spiral spring U encircles this pin and stands between the gage and the head with a normal tendency to lift the head above but when the tool is removed 1 to prevent the gage from dropping down at the gage when the latter is on the guide strip. This keeps the cutting blade above the material to be out, yet allows the head to be readily depressed more or less according to the thickness of the material to be cut and the number of layers there are, as suggested in Figs. 3 and 6. The part V of the head is faced off so as to work smoothly against one of the faced off surfaces K on the gage, while at the other side the head has a projection W, faced off to work smoothly against the other surface K of the gage. This head and gage have a sliding connection at this end so that no lateral movement of the head may take place independently of the gage, whereby the cutting blade is kept perfectly parallel with the guide strip. In Figs. 5 and 6 I have shown a modified form of constructing this part of the device. In this form but one surface K is employed and the projection W is omitted from the head, and the partV of the head is bored out as shown at a, to receive the spring and is also slotted as shown at b, to receive the stoppin a projecting from the gage while a screw 6, screws into this pin and keeps the faced off surfaces of the gage and head in close contact. Thus the same spring action is performed as that already described, though the detail arrangement is different. I do not confine myself to the location or particular arrangement of the spring when the spring is used, for it will be understood that while a spring is greatly preferred, still the device is operative and of practical value without a spring, as the pivotal connection between the gage and head admits of the proper swinging movement of the head to bring the cutter down upon the material to be cut and to lift it therefrom. The stop 1-1, in the form first described, performs the same function as the stop-pin c, performs in the modified construction.

From the foregoing description the operation of my improved tool will readily be understood and I need only add that a handle f, is attached to the head so as to readily manipulate it, while the head is also formed with a hand part h, adapted particularly for the thumb so that with the handle grasped in the hand, the thumb, or where the thumb and hand merge, can be placed at the part It and the full strength of the arm applied to press the spring down and drive the blade through and along the material to be cut, while the gage and guide strip are acting to properly guide the whole tool.

In Letters Patent of the United States, granted to me September 5, 1888, No. 389,901,

I set forth a gage and head relatively adjusted by an adjusting screw; and in Letters Patent of the United States granted to me July 30, 1889, 'No. 408,193, I set forth a gage and head in which the movement between them is also in a right line, but in which I employ a spring performing the function there set forth. In my present invention I depart from both of the other constructions, and pivotally connect the gage and head, and preferably use a spring between the'gage and head, as above described.

Among the advantages derived from a pivotal connection between the gage and head is that the head thus becomes a sort of lever with the pivot as its fulcrum and therefore the blade can be pressed into the material with a lever action, the degree of leverage depending upon the location of the blade compared to the pivot and the handle and hand place of the head. The more remote the hand place and handle are from the blade the greater the leverage. I have found by actual usage that this organization enables me to cut through a greater number of thicknesses of material than can be done with other tools devoid of this feature.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a cutting tool, the combination with a gage, of a head fitted thereto, a blade carried by the head, a pivotal connection connecting the head and gage together, and a spring for sustaining the head.

2. In a cutting tool, the combination with a gage, of a head fitted thereto, a blade carried by the head, a pivotal connection connecting the head and gage together, a spring to sustain the head, and a stop to limit the movement between the parts.

3. In a cutting tool, the combination with a gage, of ahead fitted thereto, a blade carried by the head, a pivotal-connection betweenthe head and gage at one side of the blade, a sliding connection between the head and gage at the other side of the blade, and a spring operating between the head and gage.

4C. In a cutting tool, the combination with a gage, of a head fitted thereto, a blade carried by the head, a pivotal connection between the head and gage at one side of the blade, a sliding connection between the head and gage at the other side of the blade, a pin carried by the head and working in a bore in the gage, a spring encircling the pin, and a stop to limit the movement of the head relatively to the gage.

5. In a cutting tool, the following instru mentalities: a head provided with faced off surfaces, a handle and a hand place, an arbor in the head and a rotary disk blade on the arbor, a gage having faced off surfaces engaging with those of the head, a bore near one end, a pivot pin near the other end and a stop lug, the said head being mounted on the pivot pin and adapted to be engaged by the stop lug, a pin adapted to fit the bore and a spring fitted about the pin and between the gage and head.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES T. RIDGELY.

Witnesses:

CHARLES E. MORRIS, JOHN E. MORAN. 

